{ PART ONE : Scraps from my "Inspiration" folder }
My design thoughts are a little dis-jointed right now, but I've found the elements in "The Emporer Jones" script that I want to focus on: the Gold Pocket Watch (and the concept of time over the play), the visceral force coming from things that aren't there (nightmares and apparitions) and the idea of the spectres eyes glowing in the night. I want the space to look as though it were imposing down upon you - trees so tall you cannot see the tops, closing in from every side, giving the character and the audience the sense of being closed in and trapped in an infinite abyss that anything could come from. I want to play with the line of what is real and what is not by using some elements of the set to look like spectres who aren't actually there contrasted with actors playing spectres who can come from unexpected places, perhaps so the audience will mistake them for part of the set untill they come out to spook Jones.
While compiling the second image...I just had THE BEST IDEA! I was looking for ideas that would intergrate actor-spectres with the trees of the set, so I was Google-ing "The Scary Trees from Snow White"...which I was inspired by and I found the sketch concept image in pencil (above), and I thought - How cool would it be if the crocodile from the Witch Doctor scene
was a fallen tree that opens up to reveal sharp teeth, with light spilling out from inside its mouth! I think I want the space to stay the same throughout the entire play, but have different ways to bring the apparitions out of the forest each time (such as splitting open one of the trees for the crocodile).
[After begginning to build the draft set model] My design is slowly evolving, I'm looking for more visually interesting ways to portray the forest. I've decided to go in the direction of looking closer at tree roots (Jones' struggling with getting back to his roots) but still going with the idea that his environment changes around him and comes to get him. I'm looking into the idea of Mangrove forests, forests that are predominantly built of tall tree roots with canopies that grow entwined with one-another to enclose the eco-system below. This lets in very small amounts of dappled light and creates a sort of cage for those that enter. I like the idea of closing Jones in, trapping him in an environment that is a representation of his mind.
Aaaaaaand then I decided to throw everything above out the window. What became of just playing around with abstracting the forest, I am a lot happier with. (Thanks for the photos Serge!)
It's great when you look back on the process, and see the shifts that have informed your work - artists work blindly, intuitively...at times it's a bit scary ...excellent work so far.
And here, in all its glory, is my assignment/essay:
My design thoughts are a little dis-jointed right now, but I've found the elements in "The Emporer Jones" script that I want to focus on: the Gold Pocket Watch (and the concept of time over the play), the visceral force coming from things that aren't there (nightmares and apparitions) and the idea of the spectres eyes glowing in the night. I want the space to look as though it were imposing down upon you - trees so tall you cannot see the tops, closing in from every side, giving the character and the audience the sense of being closed in and trapped in an infinite abyss that anything could come from. I want to play with the line of what is real and what is not by using some elements of the set to look like spectres who aren't actually there contrasted with actors playing spectres who can come from unexpected places, perhaps so the audience will mistake them for part of the set untill they come out to spook Jones.
While compiling the second image...I just had THE BEST IDEA! I was looking for ideas that would intergrate actor-spectres with the trees of the set, so I was Google-ing "The Scary Trees from Snow White"...which I was inspired by and I found the sketch concept image in pencil (above), and I thought - How cool would it be if the crocodile from the Witch Doctor scene
was a fallen tree that opens up to reveal sharp teeth, with light spilling out from inside its mouth! I think I want the space to stay the same throughout the entire play, but have different ways to bring the apparitions out of the forest each time (such as splitting open one of the trees for the crocodile).
[After begginning to build the draft set model] My design is slowly evolving, I'm looking for more visually interesting ways to portray the forest. I've decided to go in the direction of looking closer at tree roots (Jones' struggling with getting back to his roots) but still going with the idea that his environment changes around him and comes to get him. I'm looking into the idea of Mangrove forests, forests that are predominantly built of tall tree roots with canopies that grow entwined with one-another to enclose the eco-system below. This lets in very small amounts of dappled light and creates a sort of cage for those that enter. I like the idea of closing Jones in, trapping him in an environment that is a representation of his mind.
Aaaaaaand then I decided to throw everything above out the window. What became of just playing around with abstracting the forest, I am a lot happier with. (Thanks for the photos Serge!)
It's great when you look back on the process, and see the shifts that have informed your work - artists work blindly, intuitively...at times it's a bit scary ...excellent work so far.
And here, in all its glory, is my assignment/essay:
Ideas are coming together.
My design presentation: